{ARC Review} Shaken, Not Stirred by Sawyer Bennett

Title: Shaken, Not Stirred

Series: Last Call #5

Author: Sawyer Bennett

Published: 17th Mar 2015

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: eARC provided via Netgalley for fair & honest review

Rating: 4/5

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BLURB:

Casey Markham is a man-eater in a rut. Swearing off relationships may keep her heart safe, but she's beginning to question if her casual flings will ever leave her satisfied. She's wondering if it's finally time to let go of the past and stop letting history control her future.

Bad boy biker, Tenn Jennings can't get Casey off his mind. A chance encounter with the beautiful blond has left its mark, and now he's determined to prove her wrong about everything she thought she knew about men.

It’s safe to say… Casey Markham has met her match.

Hero is an ex marine, bike riding cowboy - enough said

REVIEW:

The story:

We've all read the story of the MC who is against love & commitment, but I just love that this time it's about a woman. Casey is all about having carefree fun and has her rules about not getting too close to any man. But all that starts to change when she meets, Tenn. He's a ex marine, bikie who grew up on his family's ranch, and the perfect guy to shake up Casey's world.

Casey's past pain goes much deeper than being dumped or cheated on. It's more about being made to feel worthless and underserving of true love. Never wanted to feel cheap again she's locked her heart away and jumps from one casual meaningless fling to the next. At the first sign of commitment she runs. But Tenn is having none of that. He challenges her in all aspects of her life and for the first time she's starting to believe that maybe she could have more. However Tenn is hiding things about himself, fearing it will scare her away, but when she finds out, will their new relationship be strong enough to convince Casey not to keep running?

The characters:

On the surface Casey is a just a wild fun loving girl, and her aversion to relationships is simply her not wanting to be tied down. But as we get to know her better we see that she's been hurt before and isn't willing to risk her heart again. On some level she also doesn't believe she's good enough for true love and will always be a man's fling. But I really enjoyed watching Tenn show her that she deserves better and that he can be the one to give her that.

Tenn is an ex marine, bike riding cowboy - what a lethal combination. Or as Casey says: "You like have all the hot guy tropes covered." Despite his initial description making him sounds like a typical bad boy hero, he's actual extremely sincere and a really sweet guy. He has a 14 year old daughter from an ex wife and absolutely adores her. He's not at all a cliche character and has a really unique personality, and sometimes almost came across as shy. I really loved this guy!

The romance:

After being hurt in the past Casey has a very negative outlook on love. Despite her being upfront from the beginning that she's not interested in a relationship, Tenn knows there is something special between them and is determined to capture Casey's jaded heart. The chemistry is off the charts and slowly Tenn manages to break down her walls and show her that love and respect is something she deserves.

The writing:

I love how Sawyer's books are always new and exciting, and it never feels like your reading the same story with slightly different leads. She also continues to find new and interesting ways of writing love scenes. No one can possibly accuse her of being repetitive or boring. Two words: Horseback ride… *slow claps*

FINAL WORD:

Hero is an ex marine, bike riding cowboy - enough said

CONTENT:

Sexuality: medium / descriptive sex scenes

Violence: mild

Language: medium / several f words

Drugs & alcohol: mild / several scenes set in bar